I made a mistake.
I asked The Internet questions.
Remember way back early on (if you're a Long Time Reader) I mentioned paralysis of analysis? What happens when you ask The Internet questions is that you get a lot of opinions that create brain chaos. And brain chaos, for me, leads to anxiety. So there's my confession for the day: I'm feeling anxious.
(I almost said I AM anxious, but then I remembered my DBT training- feelings come and go, like waves on the ocean.)
What I did was, I found a forum where I could ask people about areas in NC that we're considering for our future move.
What I didn't do was, I didn't consider that the answers would make me question everything. Which would make me anxious. Which would make me sad.
I read through pages and pages of responses from people who truly were trying to be helpful- and many of whom, actually were being helpful. I got some insight into the towns and cities we're thinking about. Some of it affirming, some of it discouraging. Much of it very detailed. Some of it pretty contradictory. And one noteworthy response which was essentially pages and pages of reasons why I should never, ever move to NC. (My favorite response from another forum-user: "....LOL what?")
I'm pretty good at reading through online reviews, and deciding what seems reliable and what seems a little far-fetched. The problem I had this time is that there was a lot of information that was kind of scary- most of it having to do with the housing market.
People said, "You're going to have a really hard time buying a house"- too expensive, too much out-bidding, too much money at risk (WTH with the non-refundable due diligence money, NC?).
Okay.. probably true. So, maybe we'll build a house.
Oh- wait. People said, "It's not any better to try to build"- too many potential buyers without enough lots being offered, lots of out-bidding (still), time frame could be extremely long before you'd even be able to start construction.
Ugh.
I had some moments of panic. Maybe this is a horrible idea. Maybe we won't be able to get a new house. Maybe we should just stay in Ithaca.
PAUSE. BREATHE.
Is this going to be easy? No, but that's not new information, right? I know that there is a lot to consider, and change is hard and scary, and the future is uncertain.
But is is impossible? No. People do this. People move out of state all the time. People buy houses. (Or build them.)
There is still a lot for me to explore, but a lot of that can't be done by asking random internet people to tell me what I need to know. And I have time.
Remember that- we have time. I don't need all the answers today. I can't even GET all the answers today, there are things I have to be there to see and experience.
And shouldn't this all be part of the adventure? The process? The exploring new places and possibilities?
So the theme of this blog post is: Don't Panic.
